Forum sheds light on statewide ballot questions

NEWPORT — About 100 Newport County residents ventured to the Community College of Rhode Island on on Oct. 24 to learn about the nearly $200 million in statewide bond issues on the Nov. 6 ballot.

But about an hour of the 2 1/2-hour forum was devoted to ballot questions for which residents will not have to ante up a dime: proposals to allow table games, such as poker, blackjack and roulette, to the state’s two video-slot parlors, Newport Grand and Twin River in Lincoln.

The forum, co-sponsored by the Newport County Chamber of Commerce and The Newport Daily News, featured a panel of speakers who explained each referendum on the November ballot.

In the case of monetary questions, speakers outlined what the funding would be used for and took questions from the audience. The portion of the forum that focused on the gambling questions included representatives of both Twin River and Newport Grand and a member of Citizens Concerned About Casino Gambling, which opposes the expansion of gambling.

While each bond issue requires an up-or-down vote on whether the state should borrow money to finance specific projects, the gambling questions are not quite as simple. The state constitution requires that voters statewide and within the community where the gambling facility is located approve each referendum. In the case of Newport Grand, that means a majority of voters across Rhode Island would need to approve Question 2 on the statewide ballot and a majority of Newport voters would have to approve Question 8 on the local ballot in order to approve table games for the slots parlor on Admiral Kalbfus Road.

Question 1 on the statewide ballot would authorize table games at Twin River, which also has a local question on the town portion of the ballot.

In making their case for the approval of the gambling questions, Newport Grand CEO Diane S. Hurley and Twin River Chairman John Taylor said that the addition of table games would protect existing jobs and revenue to the state and the host communities while adding new jobs and more revenue.

Newport Grand has about 192 employees now, Hurley said, and would add about 50 more with the advent of 15 table games. Taylor said Lincoln has 900 employees and would add about 350 along with 65 table games.

Hurley estimated the addition of table games would mean an additional $300,000 a year for the city of Newport. The city now collects about $900,000 in combined property taxes and gambling revenue from Newport Grand.

Hurley and Taylor said the addition of table games is important for the Rhode Island facilities to compete with future casinos in Massachusetts. Last year, that state approved the establishment of three full casinos and one “racino,” or race track with slots. Those facilities are not projected to open until 2016 at the earliest.

But the Rev. Eugene McKenna, a former pastor at St. Lucy’s Church in Middletown and member of Citizens Concerned About Casino Gambling, asked voters to reject the bid for more gambling, which he argued is not the proper avenue for economic development in the state.

McKenna also argued that approval of the referenda would take the future path of gambling out of the hands of voters and put it into the hands of the state legislature, citing the fact the only gambling question Newport voters have approved was the establishment of a jai alai fronton in 1974. Over the years, the state added simulcast betting, video lottery terminals and eliminated the sport of jai alai, all without voter approval, he said.

Question 3: $50 million for renovation and modernization of three buildings on the Rhode Island College campus. Kate Brezina, executive director for alumni and college relations, said RIC would modernize the two largest buildings on campus, Gaige Hall and Craig Lee Hall, and upgrade the Fogarty Life Science Center, which houses the college’s nursing program.

College officials are fighting a losing cause to maintain the buildings because they are more than 40 years old, Brezina said. To keep them functional for current educational needs, they need to be completely overhauled, she said.

Question 4: $94 million for the Veterans Home in Bristol. Edward P. Kane, a member of the state’s Permanent Advisory Committee on Veterans Affairs, said if approved and completed, the project would be eligible for federal reimbursement of about 65 percent. The current home, last renovated in 1969, has been forced to shut down some wings because they are deteriorating, Kane said. The home now houses 201 veterans, although the capacity is 250.

The new home would provide on-site medical treatment so that veterans needing care do not have to be transported to the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Providence, Kane said, and would provide an adult day care center for veterans and their families. Once the new building is completed, the older building would be renovated.

Question 5: $20 million for the Clean Water Finance Agency, to provide the state’s 20 percent match to leverage federal grants from the Environmental Protection Agency. The state agency would use the money to provide below-market rate loans to municipalities for drinking water and wastewater treatment projects.

Between 1992 and 2012, the agency provided Rhode Island cities and towns with $1.4 billion in loans at rates below what they could get in the private bond market, said Tony Simeone, executive director of the state agency. He cited improvements to the Lawton Valley water treatment plant as an example of a local project that secured an agency loan.

Question 6: $20 million for state Department of Environmental Management environmental and recreational programs. The referendum has six components: $4 million for Narragansett Bay and watershed restoration; $2.5 million for open space acquisition; $4.5 million for purchase of farmland development rights; $2.5 million for grants to cities and towns for their purchase of open space; $5.5 million for local recreation grants; and $1 million in municipal grants to renovate or develop local historic or passive recreation areas.

Among the local water projects eligible for watershed restoration grants are 10 Newport County ponds, including Easton’s Pond in Newport and St. Mary’s Pond in Portsmouth, said Joe Dias, chief of planning for DEM and a Newport native.

Question 7: $25 million for affordable housing. Richard Godfrey, executive director of Rhode Island Housing, said the bond money would enable the state to leverage about another $125 million in outside funding.

Rhode Island is one of the most expensive places to live in comparison to average wages, he said, citing the average rent of $1,600 a month for a 3-bedroom apartment in Newport.

“This will allow us to create ... 600 good affordable homes, which are critically needed in Rhode Island,” Godfrey said.

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